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Sunday, 10 March 2013

Indian Cruise Missile Nirbhay Debut Test Tomorrow

Speculating on a debut missile launch by DRDO is always a long-drawn gamble, but this could be it for the agency's Tomahawk-like long range cruise missileNirbhay. With a launch window that opened yesterday off the country's east coast test range, the missile is expected to be test-fired for the first time tomorrow morning.Mostly used to a series of ballistic missiles (the BrahMos isn't really Indian is it?), there is a great deal of justified attention in how an indigenous cruise missile programme will acquit itself. The Nirbhay is said to be a 750-1,000 km range weapon system.

As I've posted here before, the Nirbhay, shrouded in secrecy for long, is understood to be a two-stage high subsonic cruise missile with loitering capabilities. Sources suggest that apart from the engine (apparently supplied by NPO Saturn), the rest of the system is fully indigenous.